The present invention relates as indicated to a capillary disc and support therefor, and relates more particularly to a disc and support adapted to be used in a flower pot environment to improve the transfer of water from a tray or the like to the pot and thus the growing media by means of capillary action.
In my issued U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,109, granted Aug. 10, 1982, there is disclosed a capillary disc and support of the same general type as the present invention, which constitutes an improvement thereover. There are a number of similarities between the respective structures, with both having a disc elevated from the bottom of a supporting tray by legs and formed with a center opening downwardly through which a wick of a water permeable pad can extend for submergence in water in the tray. In this manner, water can be transmitted by capillary action from the pad to and uniformly throughout the pad for providing water to a pot positioned on the pad. The construction of the pat forms no part of the present invention, and in the usual manner is formed with a plurality of radially and arcuately spaced openings therein which serve both as drainage and watering openings, depending upon the watering techniques for the plant positioned in the pot.
While the capillary disc and support shown in my earlier patent are more than satisfactory for the purpose intended, there are certain disadvantages owing to the construction of the disc and integrally formed legs which support the disc in an elevated position from the bottom of the tray. First of all, the supporting legs simply rest on the bottom of the tray, and the disc is susceptible to movement and even tipping in the event the pot is not properly positioned on the pad located at the top of the disc. Secondly, the supporting legs extend generally perpendicularly downwardly from the disc thereby making it difficult to efficiently ship and store the disc and consequently increasing the unit cost of the system.
Although prior art devices of this general type have employed outwardly and downwardly tapered supporting legs in a capillary type watering environment, they possess certain production or functional disadvantages. The use of an annular outwardly flared support for a pot is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,663 to S. M. Silver, but the flared support flange forms part of a generally cylindrical outer container thereby greatly increasing the production costs. Moreover, the disc and pad arrangement of Silver are dissimilar to that of the present invention.
Green, U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,144, is similar in relevance, disclosing an annular outwardly flared skirt which rests on the bottom of the reservoir tray.
British Pat. No. 1,200,457 similarly discloses an annular outwardly flared skirt on a support disc, with the supporing tray being provided with diametrically opposed thin lugs which are positioned in slots formed in the skirt for positioning the same in the tray. The skirt, being annular, results in increased manufacturing costs, and the relatively thin lugs are susceptible to breaking thereby potentially disrupting the locking arrangement.